Monopoly is More Than a game

Teaching kids about finances is important to me.  I believe that too many kids grow into adults with very little knowledge and almost no skills concerning money management, and end up buying things they really can’t afford and then paying for them at high interest rates for a long, long time.  I hope that the information in this blog can help both parents and youth learn something that will make their financial lives easier.  While I know money isn’t the point of life, I do think it helps make some parts of life a little easier.

I’ve been thinking for several months about how to make a board game that can help my kids understand some financial lessons about saving and investing money.  They are already quite good at spending it, although we are working on the idea of quality and value.

I have looked at board games that are out there.  Pay Day and the Game Of Life are ones that I have played and I know they help with some basic money skills.  Another game that I have seen suggested at other blogs is Moneywise Kids, but I have never played it.  I have also heard some pretty good things about Cashflow For Kids, a board game designed by Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad money help book series, although I have never played it either.  I believe there is an online version of the Cashflow For Kids game on the Rich Dad, Poor Dad website.


Monopoly for My Family
I decided to make some game alterations to the classic board game, Monopoly by Parker Brothers.  I chose this game because my kids already love playing it and understand the rules of the basic game quite well.  I just wanted to add some investment options beyond properties to help the kids understand a few savings/investment concepts.  The following are my additions to the game:

Players can invest or withdraw from their Savings/Stock Account every time they pass GO without a fee.

Savings Account options:
-Every time your token passes GO, your savings account grows by 5%, and you have the options of adding to or withdrawing from the account.  If you have to withdraw money from the account when your token hasn’t just passed GO, then there is a 5% access fee added to the withdrawal.

Stock Investment options:
- Every time your token passes GO, your stock investments grow by the amount associated with the dice you just rolled.
  2 – lose 50%
  3 – lose 25%
  4 – lose 10%
  5 – no gains or losses
  6, 7 & 8 – 10% growth
  9 – 20% growth
  10 – 30% growth
  11 – 40% growth
  12 – 50% growth
If you have to withdraw money from the account when your token hasn’t just passed GO, then there is a 10% access fee added to the withdrawal.

The variety of losses or gains were meant to show that nothing is guaranteed in the stock market, and the gains or losses can be more extreme than compared to the savings account.  I tried to stick to percentages that are fairly easy to figure out, and I always rounded up to the next dollar.

My oldest caught on to the potential of the stock market very quickly, my second child liked the safety of the Savings Account, and my third child avoided both and simply invested in the properties on the board.  I used a combination of all of them.  It did add a bit of paperwork to my time while playing the game but I felt it was worthwhile.

I was able to talk with my kids about putting a little money away that grows separately from the properties and rent standard in the game.  We also play the Free Parking = Lottery option, and I was able to talk about how rarely anyone lands on that square and that you can’t count on the Lottery for money.  I also noticed how quickly my 3rd child was catching on to the math of the game, being able to make change for various purchases very quickly by the end of the playing.

It took over 3 hours to finish the game completely, but it was a fun way to spend a Saturday evening with the kids and be able to talk about some financial concepts in a way that they can understand.

I would be interested in hearing from any readers if they have tried any money games to help teach kids about finances.  Jerry